The principal of Central Elementary School will succeed San Diego Unified Superintendent Bill Kowba, the San Diego Unified School District announced Wednesday.

A majority of Supreme Court justices seemed prepared on Wednesday to invalidate a key section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The law is considered the most effective piece of civil rights legislation in the nation's history.

Dealing with a large, scared animal can be a nightmare at a crash scene or in a wildfire. That's why first responders are gathered at the Del Mar Fairgrounds today. They are getting training that might help them in a crisis.

A thrilling investigative drama exploring the personal and professional lives of two female detectives, from award-winning writer Sally Wainwright. Detective Constable Rachel Bailey is 30, down-to-earth, noisy, argumentative and single. Her partner, Detective Constable Janet Scott, is 40, a diplomat and a thinker, as well as being a wife and mother. They both work for Manchester Metropolitan Police's prestigious Murder Investigation Team and, despite the obvious differences between them, the fact that they are often thrown together in difficult situations means they have developed a robust friendship.

From political realities to Plaza de Panama, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner covered a lot of ground in his official monthly meeting with the media.

Several Republican state lawmakers are authoring legislation they say will make college more affordable in California.

A White House report says thousands of California children would go without vaccines, and disadvantaged kids will lose day care.

Mexican federal prosecutors say the union boss bought two homes in Coronado and spent more than $2 million at Fashion Valley's Neiman Marcus store, all with stolen money.

A new Field Poll finds increasing support among Californians for legalizing marijuana.

Several states are rushing to establish a foothold in online gambling -- an activity that federal officials were only recently trying to ban.

Trevor Nunn, the legendary director who has directed 30 of Shakespeare’s 37 plays and is determined to complete them all before he retires, takes viewers through the magical and mysterious world created in Shakespeare’s last complete play. Among the enthusiastic students of the play who contribute ideas about the role of Prospero is the Archbishop of Canterbury, along with Helen Mirren and director Julie Taymor, who collaborated on the most recent film adaptation — with Mirren playing a female Prospera.

Among those watching the papal transition closely are survivors of clergy sexual abuse, including a handful who were selected to meet with Pope Benedict XVI five years ago as the crisis raged.

The victory of a pro gun-control candidate in the Illinois Democratic primary race to replace Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was also a political win for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose superPAC backed the winner over a candidate it linked to the NRA.

If Congress and the Obama administration can't agree on a budget deal by Friday, the federal government will be forced to cut $85 billion from just about every federally funded program. Every state could lose federal aid, and a myriad of government programs could shut down or curtail services -- and that includes the nation's public schools.

The senior Homeland Security Department official in charge of arresting and deporting illegal immigrants announced his retirement the same day the agency said that hundreds of people facing deportation had been released from immigration jails due to looming budget cuts, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. The government said he had told his bosses weeks ago that he planned to retire.

Only a few more hours until the sequestration kicks in. You can feel the tension. The anxiety. The pre-panic attack.

Revenues coming into the city of San Diego are running above projections through the first six months of the fiscal year, and that should result in officials having an extra $3.6 million to spend, according to a report presented to a City Council committee today.

The Navy reported today that two Sailors from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 died during a dive operation on Tuesday.

Republicans are headed to the state convention in Sacramento this weekend. Among them, Ruben Barrales who's leading a Republican political action committee focused on recruiting and electing Latinos.

Governor Jerry Brown ordered all flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol today in honor of fallen Camp Pendleton Marine Staff Sgt. Jonathan Davis.

ICE confirmed that several hundred immigrant detainees were recently released from detention facilities nationwide. Figures from Tuesday showed that less than 12 percent of Arizona's population of detained immigrants had been released.

The Navy has released the name of the SEAL who went missing during an ocean training exercise near Oahu. He was Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Matthew John Leathers, 33, of Woodland, California.

Getting economists to agree with each other isn't easy. But Congress and the White House have managed to unite them.

Consider the following entirely fictitious but totally plausible scenario:

A Camp Pendleton Marine plummeted to his death yesterday in Perris during a skydiving accident. Several witnesses say his parachute failed to open.

The FAA is planning to close air traffic control towers at commuter airports in San Diego, Santa Monica, Sacramento and Riverside if the sequester takes effect. It's also looking at eliminating overnight service at three large California airports.

An aspiring San Diego architect is hoping to take farming to new heights. His crop field is indoors, there’s no dirt to plow and the climate is just right.

A new report finds youth incarceration is down nationwide, but California still has a fairly high rate: 271 per 100,000 young people. That’s the 11th highest in the country. We take a look at how those numbers break down in San Diego.

Federal regulators began inspection of San Onofre nuclear plant’s cyber security program this week. The inspection is routine and is being done at all of the nation's 65 nuclear plants. But the check at San Onofre comes several months after an employee alerted plant majority owner Southern California Edison that many at the facility had fallen behind on cyber security training. Senior managers were also included on the list.

As a public service to our readers this week we've been offering a list of three stories each day that we think illuminate the looming sequester (or at least the debate over it), set to be triggered by the passing of Friday's deadline.

Most Americans are earning more money than their parents, according to a new study from Pew's Economic Mobility Project. But those gains don't tell the whole picture.

Researchers say more young American women are being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.

Most families know that their kids need to exercise. In a poll that NPR recently conducted with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, practically all of the parents surveyed said it's important for their kids to exercise. But about one third of them said that can be difficult.

Increasingly, people are continuing to work past 65. Almost a third of Americans between the ages of 65 and 70 are working, and among those older than 75, about 7 percent are still on the job. In Working Late, a series for Morning Edition, NPR profiles older adults who are still in the workforce.

Once again, race is front and center at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. And once again, the bull's eye is the 1965 Voting Rights Act, widely viewed as the most effective and successful civil rights legislation in American history. Upheld five times by the court, the law now appears to be on life support.